Mitchell retires but will stay until new CEO is on board
MedRec archival system set for April launch; complements LastWord physician order entry
Dermatology expands outpatient services for skin cancer, aesthetics and rejuvenation services
Books on the desktop: e-Books available through Health Library
Plastic surgery resident Kim dies in Tahoe ski accident
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TOXOPLASMOSIS - A panel of tests developed by Stanford researchers can better gauge a pregnant woman's risk of transmitting toxoplasmosis to her fetus than current tests, according to a study published in the January issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The study found that current tests often either produce false positives or are misinterpreted by physicians, prompting expectant mothers to abort their fetuses unnecessarily. Study leader Jack Remington, professor of medicine and Palo Alto Medical Foundation researcher, said the results are "a wake-up call for this country to recognize the importance of appropriate serologic testing for pregnant women," and an implicit message for pregnant women to "eat all your meat well-cooked" to avoid the risk of toxoplasmosis.
EMT - Electron microscope tomography is enabling researchers to study active zone material that gathers near the gap between the end of one neuron and the beginning of another. A Stanford research group headed by U.J. McMahan, professor of neurobiology, said the 3-D images available from EMT have resulted in recent findings on protein organizations reported by his team - including lead author and graduate student Mark Harlow - in the Jan. 25 issue of Nature.
ETHICS - Academic institutions throughout the United States should work together to develop clear, specific policies governing conflicts of interest for faculty members with ties to industry, says Mildred Cho, PhD, a senior research scholar at Stanford's Center for Biomedical Ethics. She discussed the value and effectiveness of conflict-of-interest disclosure rules governing scientific studies of health and the environment during a symposium Feb. 18 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
"WORM CHIP" - Stuart Kim has worked with colleagues to construct a DNA chip that contains almost all of the nematode worm's genes, the associate professor of developmental biology and of genetics reported Feb. 17 in San Francisco during a genome symposium at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Using the "worm chip," researchers can see how worm genes are switched on, cranked up or turned off as the animal develops from egg through adulthood.
FAT MICE - Using mice with a molecular defect that causes them to swell to twice their normal size, Gregory Barsh, associate professor of pediatrics and of genetics at Stanford and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, has found that the regulation of body weight becomes skewed when proteins that determine pigmentation Ð normally produced in skin cells Ð are erroneously expressed in the brain. He presented an overview of the latest research from his lab Feb. 19 in San Francisco during a symposium on obesity at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
